Meet Dylan Garrett Smith | artist, illustrator, designer, and filmmaker.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dylan Garrett Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dylan, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When I was a teenager growing up in the punk scene, I was in bands, but I wasn’t a very good musician and all of my friends were into skateboarding, but I wasn’t great at that, either. I always kind of felt like I wasn’t good at anything, but what I had was a lot of passion and thankfully some of my teachers recognized that early on. They really pushed me to draw and write more. Eventually, I was designing for a lot of my friends’ bands and I realized that was a way for me to be a part of the scene as more than just a spectator. After graduating art school at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, I was still illustrating and designing for bands, brands, record labels, etc. and it just made sense to keep doing what I enjoy. In addition to illustration and design, I got into filmmaking a few years back and started a second company, Slashtag Cinema, with my friends, Travis Bacon and Kyle Kouri, where we’ve been making independent horror films.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Over the years, I have designed for nearly 300 bands, brands, and labels, shown in over 120 gallery exhibitions, created album art for nearly 100 releases, my work has been featured nationally and internationally in 35+ publications, and I have received awards and nominations for the short films I have written and directed, but honestly, what I’m always excited for the most is the future – I look forward to taking on my next creative challenge, the new friends I’ll make through art and film, discovering my next favorite band that I haven’t heard of yet, seeing art that makes me think or feel in a way that my current vocabulary can’t describe in words, and experiencing more of the “life” part of work/life balance while celebrating my accomplishments when they come and the accomplishments of my friends. If people take away only one thing from my work, I hope it’s to give your friends their flowers before their funeral.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
You fly in, I pick you up from LAX (that’s when you know you’re in good hands), we drop your stuff off then head over to Beelman’s for some good vegan food. One of our favorite bands is playing at First Street Pool, so we go check it out. After, we hit up Salt & Straw for some dessert, but we take it to-go and check out The Mermaid in Little Tokyo. By that time, we’re exhausted so we go home and pass out. The next day, we go to the La Brea Tar Pits, then walk over to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, have lunch at Fanny’s, and see the special exhibition at LACMA. And since time isn’t real because this is your imaginary trip, we’ll still have time to go grab something from Trejo’s Donuts on our way to see a horror movie at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The next day, we’ll head up to Van Nuys for El Cocinero, then grab some records at The Midnight Hour Records in the San Fernando Valley before staying for that night’s show. Over the rest of your trip we’ll make sure to visit Compton Vegan, El Coyote, and have brunch at Nic’s on Beverly, we’ll see a Beauty of Burlesque show at The Globe or Lucha VaVOOM at The Mayan, go see a movie or two at Alamo Drafthouse and The New Beverly Cinema, see Puppet Up! on the Jim Henson Lot, go for a hike in Griffith Park or Angeles National Forest, visit my favorite beach (I can’t blow up the spot since it’s never busy!), and spend an evening at The Magic Castle.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
No one is self-made and there have been a lot of people that have contributed to the success of my work over the years; every band that’s hired me, every record label that wanted to work with me, every gallery that’s exhibited my art, every publisher that put me in their book or magazine, every blog that covered my shows, every person that has bought a piece, shirt, or print, everyone that has gotten one of my pieces tattooed, everyone that shares my work with their friends, every artist that’s collaborated with me, my family, friends, and partner that are always supportive of my creative endeavors… But I think I’d shout out the dark art scene in Philly for always supporting each other and exemplifying what it means to be a community. It’s easier for everyone to come up together than it is to do it on your own.

Website: https://www.dylangarrettsmith.com

Instagram: @dylanxvx

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylangarrettsmith

Other: Tiktok: @dylanxvx Slashtag Cinema is on IG and TT at @slashtagcinema